Saul Ruiz Professor Harris Moore 3 PM Section January 24 2012 Proposal For my rhetorical analysis essay I am investigating how Annotation The Savant Syndrome a scholarly source and the popular source Autistic Savant by Better Health Channel explore the savant s mind differently There are various subtle differences between the two sources one of which is audience For example Annotation The Savant Syndrome seems to be directed towards an audience educated in this particular area possibly researchers or faculty whereas Autistic Savant is mainly directed toward the general public This is seen in the way that each uniquely present their own ideas Annotation The Savant Syndrome specifies on every detail pertaining to a savant including history and rates of occurrence using technical lexicon whereas Autistic Savant briefly overviews main points that characterize a savant such as their particular skills or abilities Outline 1 Introduction 2 Rhetorical situation for Annotation The Savant Syndrome includes audience style content purpose etc 3 Examine the author s motive to explore findings regarding savants which have mainly surfaced within the last twenty years 1 Attempts to make a point that although interest on savants has been going on for a while research has only taken hold for about a fraction of the time Quote Whilst interest has focused on the origin and nature of the savant syndrome for over a century it is only within the past two decades that empirical group studies have been carried out 4 There seems to be a structured and logical progression to this article beginning with history and then moving on to the definition of a savant and so forth all the way up to the presence of savant abilities in other groups 5 Includes various statistics to support the author s informative style which demonstrates an appeal to numbers The multitude of references used by the author also generates an appeal to authority One example of this is the many studies cited in their article such as However Rimland 1978 targeted parents of 5 400 children with autism and here 531 individuals constituting 9 8 of the autistic population were identi ed as savants 6 Rhetorical situation for Autistic Savant 7 Author s goals are to clearly and concisely relay information to the general public on the matter which is the direct opposite of Annotation The Savant Syndrome 1 Language is simplified in order to foster a greater sense of understanding from its readers Quote Autistic savant means a person with an autism spectrum disorder who has an unusual gift or an outstanding skill or knowledge clearly above their general level of ability and above the population norm For example a person with autism could have a savant skill in relation to their memory for numbers 8 Explores new findings that have furthered the study of savants and their respective abilities Quote In a joint project with the University of South Australia and Adelaide University researchers from Flinders University in Adelaide were able to elicit new savant skills in volunteers by using transcranial magnetic stimulation to temporarily disable the frontal temporal lobe Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a type of treatment for depression 9 Conclusion